Lucy Bronze: How did England’s Euro 2025 winner play with a fractured leg?

Bronze’s aunt, Julie Tough, told BBC 5 Live: “Lucy wouldn’t damage her body but she’ll play through pain if she thinks she’s not going to do anything worse to it.

“She’ll not let the pain get in the way.”

Painkillers and anti-inflammatories may have helped Bronze manage her pain during games, as well as perhaps using different insoles in her boots to enable her to offload weight on the injured leg.

Bronze’s mum Diane added: “The medics had checked it and they knew what they were doing, and so does she because she did a sports science degree.”

“She reads research papers and things. She knows about injuries. That’s how she can keep going.”

The defender, who was England’s oldest player at the tournament, managed 105 minutes in Sunday’s showpiece final, before leaving the pitch in tears as she was forced off with a separate injury to her right knee.

Wiegman praised her attitude afterwards, saying: “The whole team has a great mentality but she has a crazy mentality, it’s unbelievable.”

Worth told BBC Sport that pain is experienced subjectively.

“What Lucy has shown is that bit extra – she’s an exceptional individual, and not everyone would do that,” he said.

“She knows her own body, and I have no doubt she would speak up if something isn’t right.”

During the quarter-final against Sweden, Bronze was shown on camera self-strapping support around her right leg during a break in play. Worth suggested that this is unlikely to be related to her fractured tibia.